OS X 10.7.3 Hints at Upcoming ‘Retina’ Macs and Displays

Apple’s latest update for OS X Lion contains a few nice little surprises in the form of new mouse cursors. But it’s design or newness of the cursors that’s interesting – it’s the fact that they’re designed in high-definition.

As John Gruber points out, these new high resolution cursors, coupled with reports that some Mac Minis reportedly booted into HiDPI mode after installing the 10.7.3 update, could suggest that Apple is preparing to release HiDPI “Retina” level Macs or displays in the near future.

…combined with the fact that some people with Mac Minis connected to TVs via HDMI are reporting that after upgrading to 10.7.3, their system rebooted in HiDPI mode, I can’t help but wonder whether we may be on the cusp of Apple releasing HiDPI Mac displays and/or HiDPI MacBooks. I.e.: retina display Macs.

So what’s the big deal? HiDPI would bring resolution independence to the Mac. This means that items on the screen stay the same size no matter how high the resolution of your screen is. By combining this with high definition images, you get a very sharp and crisp viewing experience in which you cannot discern between individual pixels.

Gruber admits that this may all be nothing more than wishful thinking, but considering that Gruber is extremely well-connected to goings-on at Apple, I suspect there may be a bit more to it than that. Considering that Apple’s entire Mac lineup is due for a refresh this year, 2012 could become a very exciting year for the Mac.

J. Glenn Künzler

Glenn is Managing Editor at MacTrast, and has been using a Mac since he bought his first MacBook Pro in 2006. Now he's up to his neck in Apple, and owns an old iBook, a 2012 iMac with an extra Thunderbolt display for good measure, a 4th-generation iPad, an iPad mini, 2 iPhones, and a Mac Mini that lives at the neighbor's house. He lives in a small town in Utah, enjoys bacon more than you can possibly imagine, and is severely addicted to pie.